Goa government may reconsider casino tax hike

Having approved a revised fee structure effective April 1 subjecting Goa’s casino industry to levies for the financial year 2018-19, which are as much as 4.5 times greater than the hikes casinos dealt with the same time last year, local media reports that the government may now reconsider the plan following its receipt of a petition from operators.

According to Asia Gaming Brief, the casino operators’ representation has been forwarded for assessment by the Chief secretary Dharmendra to the finance department.

For the purpose of boosting state revenue, license fees were increased substantially by the government, with hikes to the western Indian state’s six offshore casinos and nine land-based gaming facilities to reportedly see the annual revenue increased by about Rs 150 crore ($23 million).

Recurring fees for floating casinos are based on capacity, with fees for vessels that have a 200 and under passenger capacity increased from Rs100m to Rs250m. Vessels having a passenger capacity of 400-plus are subject to a staggering increase, with the fee increasing from Rs120m to Rs400m.

Land-based casinos saw their annual fees more than double, increasing to Rs 50 crore per year from Rs 20 crore.

Similarly, other fess were also subject to the increase including license renewal fees, transfer license fee, license application fees, along with an increase in the non-refundable security deposits which will cost an additional Rs500m and are required for new license approval.